Case studies of 'Stand Your Ground'

Thomas Cordy, Palm Beach Post

What happened: In interviews with police, Michael Monahan (pictured) said two men, Raymond "Ramie" Mohlman and Matthew Vittum, had tried to remove him from the sailboat, which he had bought from Mohlman six months earlier for $1,000. What the court said: Judge Richard Oftedahl said, in part, that the law didn't require the men either to be armed or actually commit physical violence for Michael Monahan to have a reasonable fear that they would either kill or severely harm him aboard the boat that had been his home since October 2010. What one of the victim's family members said: For Judy Mohlman, the release of the man who fatally shot her son, leaves her with more questions than answers. She said her son "wasn't perfect" but also believes Monahan got away with murder. "The hardest part is not getting anymore phone calls from him," Judy Monahan said of her son. "I miss hearing his voice." Read the full story.

What happened: Timothy McTigue was at the boating dock when Michael Palmer and his friends approached the dock to unload Palmer's boat, according to police reports. The two men exchanged words and then the two men were punching each other on the dock and fell into the water. McTigue maintains Palmer tried to drown him, and he played dead so that Palmer would stop, according to police reports. When Palmer, as he was climbing back onto the dock, saw that McTigue had surfaced, he threatened McTigue, according to what McTigue told his girlfriend. McTigue then fired his Colt .45-caliber pistol, killing Palmer with a shot to his head. (Pictured: Timothy McTigue with parents James and Doris McTigue after receiving a not guilty verdict at the Palm Beach County Courthouse in West Palm Beach Friday May 21, 2010.) Read the full story.